Coin-controlled vending machine



M y 11, 1954 w. M. STEWART 2,678,251

COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR 3/ 5 WILSON MARKS STEWART '3 BY ATTORN EY y 1, 1954 w. M.STEWART COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE .3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 9,1950 Fig. 6

. INVENTOR WILSON MARKS STEWART 5&4

ATTORN EY Patented May 11, 1954 UNITED STATES ?TENT OFFICECOIN-CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Wilson Marks Stewart, Ottawa, Ontario,Canada Application November 9, 1950, Serial No. 194,763

My invention relates to a coin-controlled vending machine.

"I he principal object of the invention is to provide a coin-controlled,refrigerated vending machine designed to give the maximum storagecapacity for a chosen over-all size of machine.

While the machine has been designed to vend bottled wares such as softdrinksthe liquid contents being in a sealed bottle-the machine may servefor the purpose of vending other commodities suchas packaged wares.

Inthe preferred form of a machine made according to the invention, adrum formed with superposed tiers or trays of radially-directedopen-mouthed compartments or pockets for the wares is rotated on avertical axis successively to bring the wares in one row, andsuccessively to bring the wares in the lower rows, successively, intoregister with a window the eiiective opening of which increases fromtime to time, through which access is gained to the ware then presentedto the opening for manual removal thereof from the drum.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicatecorrespondng parts in the various figures,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a vending machine made according tothis invention, partly broken away; i

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of Figure 1, on an enlarged scale, withthe front door removed;-

Figure 3 is a part-plan, part-sectional view of the drum, as on line 33in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a more or less diagrammatic and isometric, fragmentary viewof the drum;

Figure 5 shows thewiring diagram of the electrical circuit used forstarting and stopping the motor actuating the drum;

Figure 6 isa more or less diagrammatic view of the drum-controlledswitch;

Figure 7' is a more or less diagrammatic view of the coin chute; and,

Figure 8 is a more or less diagrammatic view of the switch arrangementfor returning a coin when the drum is empty.

Referring now by numerals to the drawings, I!) shows a cabinet or casingsuitably insulated, and refrigerated as by suitable apparatus generallydesignated by the numeral ll, part of which may be below a horizontaltransverse partition l2.

l3 shows the drum, which is supported by a vertically disposed shaft l4rotated by'an elec triomotor -l5.- The diameter of the lower per-- 3Claims. (01. 3129'7.1)

tion of the shaft may be reduced to form a shoulder bearing uponsuitable roller hearings in ahousing 16 supported by the horizontalpartition H2. The shaft is operatively connected to the motor throughsuitable reduction gearing. The upper end of the shaft is journalled ina suitable bearing l9 secured to the top of the cabinet.

As already stated, the drum I3 is formed to provide a plurality ofsuperposed tiers or layers of radially-directed, open-mouthedcompartments. The number of compartments in each tier is, of course, amatter of choice, such numher being dictated by the vending or storingcapacity required of the machine.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the drum comprises a plurality ofhorizontal walls or shelves 20, in the form of discs; radiallydirected,equally-angularly spaced vertical partitions or walls 2! and a verticalhollow cylindrical portion 22 in efiect forming a hub from which thevertical walls radiate. The shelves 20, the partitions 2 I, and thecylindrical portion 22 define the several compartments, the cylindricalportion 22 defining the inner end or bottom of the several compartments.Bottles thus may be inserted lengthwise into the respectivecompartments, the bottles being exposed at the periphery of the drum.

The compartments are indicated by the numerals PD, Pl, P2 PIG, beingdisposed in superposed horizontal rows RI, R2 One such compartment ineach row, designated as P9, is closed or sealed at the periphery of thedrum, as by a wall 46, to prevent the entry of a bottle I thereinto orotherwise to render such compartment ineffective to receive a bottle.The closed compartments Pi) in the superposed rows, successively, are instaggered relationship, that is, relatively-angularly spaced in therows, successively, to the extent of one compartment. In other words,the compartment P0 in any one row is angularly spaced relatively to thecompartment P0 of the immediately-higher row, a

distance equal to the width of one compartment,

such lower compartment being displaced relatively to the'upper one inthe direction of rotation of the drum. For instance, if the drum rotatesclockwise, or from 'right to left as seen in Figure 2, the compartmentP6 of the third row R3 from the top will be to the left of thecompartment P0 of the second row, and the compartment'Pt of the secondrow will be to the left of thecomp'artment P9 of the top row.

The horizontal shelves 20of the drum, more particularly, the shelves,respectively, defining the roofs or tops of the rows of compartments,respectively, extend beyond the outer ends of the vertical partitions2|, in efiect to provide an annular surface ii on each shelf 2i)outwardly of the compartments (see particularly Figures 3 and 4). Eachsuch horizontal shelf, however, except the top and bottom shelves, isnotched in or recessed inwardly as at 23, the recess extending over anare equal to the width of one compartment, as measured at its outer end,that is, between the two vertical partitions defining such compartment.The recesses, respectively,- in their successive upper shelves,respectively, say from top to bottom, are also in Staggeredrelationship, such recesses being =made inethetop walls, respectively,of thecompartments P0,.

respectively, of all the rows except the top and For a betterunderstanding Dfz'thfi relative position of the compartment P and of therecesses 23, reference may bemade :to Fig-.

bottom rows.

ure 4..

The front of the cabinet is-provided with a main door 25 hingedas at 21to the cabinet; The cabinet forms with the door, when-closed, a casingin which the drum is enclosed: The doorislocked closed by a suitablelock 28.- The'main door 2'5 is formed with a vertical elongated windoworopening .30 which-is closedbya door-3| supported on one side andnormally urged to closed position i by spring hinges 32. The opening isso positioned that its vertical medial or longer axis is inalignmentwith the. axis of the-shaft 14, that is, both the axis of theshaft and that of the opening 30 are in a common plane directedat rightanglesto the plane of .the main door 26 when closed. Access to the drumis .thus gained through the smaller which part of the periphery ofthedrum isreceived, so that the door-31 may be mounted torise andlowerclose-to the drum.

Preferably, as shown only -in-Fig:ure 3, vertical baffles 42' aresecured to the insideof the main door adjacent each'siderof the opening30:" The I bafiles are slotted horizontally to define slots (not shown)receiving the horizontal-shelves Zflof the drum whenrthe main door isclosed, theubaiilesextending a distance just short of the, outer end oredge'of any of the vertical partitions 2L of the drum. These bafileswill serve effectively to seal-the compartments lying oneither side, of'thecompartments thenpresented to the window or opening 30;

The door 3? is formed atthe top with a horizon, tal-ledge or lip M (seeFigure 3) which is adapted, whenthe main door 'is closed, to ride onaandbe supportedby one ofthe horizontal shelves-20.01. the drum, moreparticularly, on the annular surface i? aforesaid; but, is of suchlength'thatit will pass through any-of the recesses Hand thus will allowthe door 31 to drop by gravity. As .the

door 3?; lowers,- it -increases the effective area (the-effectivelength) of the opening 353:. If,.for, instance, the door is supported'bythe roof of" the row R2, it will drop a distance equal-tothe depth ofone row to become'supported bytheroof Zi of the rowRt when thedrumnhasrotated sure 75 sired,,thaswitch;beingeconnected across one sideficiently to-bring-the pocket P0 of row R2 in'reg- 4 ister with theopening (the lip 4| passing through the recess 23) When the drum hasagain been rotated to bring the pocket P0 of row R3 in register with theopening, the door will drop a distance of one row to become supported bythe roof of row R4; and so on.

Where the drum is rotated by an electric motor (the machine has beendesigned to be electrically, and not manually operated), the circuit tothe motor is controlled by a conventional.coin-operated switch. Themotor is intermittently operated each time a coin is dropped into thecoin box, to rotate the drum through an angle equal to 360 dividedby-the-number of pockets, say, N degrees. When the drum has rotated Ndegrees, =thetcircuitisbroken and the motor, which is a.conventional,self-braking motor, comes to a stop, stopping the drum in a positionsuch that one yertic'alrow of pockets is in register with the longeraxis of the opening 30 as aforesaid.

Anysuitable circuittmaybeusedto start and stop the motor [5. the-circuitnow used is shown inFigure 5.-

Thecoil C of a conventional relay switch .SR is connected across theline LL as by wires WI and W2. In series with the switch SR is aconventional coineoperated switch SC, that. is, a normally-opens switch.which. is momentarily machines. is ,a "switch 5D (to be referred tolater) which is controlled by the drum- ML. The switch SD is normallyclosed but is periodically opened (by the: drum. When the switch SCismomentarily closed,

an impulse is sent through thecoilC of-the relay switch, closing therelay switch .SR; The bridge-member B2 of the. relay switch,nowelectrically 'COI'lIlBCliBdfiO a jumperJpconnects the coil '0acrossthe line through W2, the jumper. J,

becomes a holding coil,-and the switch SRrremains closed even aftertheswitchSO opens fol lowing the passage therethrough of a coin: While-13, .therswitch SR is closed, the motor I5 is connected across the linethrough W2, W3, the bridge member B! of the relay switch, and-W5.- The:motor now-startsand the drum rotates until the switch SD is opened bythe drum. The circuit-through 50. the coil is; now broken, and the relayswitch. re-

can only be started again by another coin.-.

The switch SD and I the operatingmechanism switch device which isnormally closed is opened by a leven LE disposed adjacent the shaft J4mounting the drum so as topresent-the end of the lever (moreparticularly, a, roller LR) 'in the. path of a cam (rotatingwiththeshaft-idyintheiforni q y-of a disc- M0 having equally angularly"spaced rounded projections-Ml, onevforeach,pocket of the drum ii innumber in the-present-instance) Thus, the roller LR of the lever LEiwillbe instantaneously engaged and'rnoved (lowered) to .-break theoircuit'to the motor-as each of the successive projections Ml rideszby,the-roller." The lever will. again'rise so soon as the roller :is

free of theprojection. The motor will stop as often as-a compartment ineachrow is in regiseterwith the opening or window 30. The motor will-start against as soon as the-switch SC is momentaril closed by a coin.

A normally open manually-operated switch"! til is preferablyprovided'torotate the drum dc By way of illustration-only,

turns toiits normally open position. The; motor" therefor may be asshowninFigure 6. Any suitable 5 of the line and one side of the relay switchas by a wire W6.

Preferably, suitable means are provided by which a coin will be rejectedor returned when the machine is empty of all bottles, that is, after thebottle in the last pocket Pl 6 (of the lowermost row) to be presented tothe window has been removed.

By way of example only, there is shown in Figure 8', more or lessdiagrammatically, a device adapted to accomplish this purpose. As shown,a suitable switch, shown in its entirety as 50, controls anelectromagnet-operated plunger or ai mature 46 associated with the slugrejector. The rejector, of conventional design, as already stated,includes a coin channel l! which leads or directs the coin to impinge ona rebounding edge 48. If the coin be'a legal one, that is, notcounterfeit or a so called slug, it bounces back away from the edge tofall into a channel 49 and thence into the coin receptacle. On the otherhand, if the coin be counterfeit, it more or less slides off the edge 48and falls upon a bevelled edge 52, to be directed thereby into a rejectslot. The electromagnet-controlled plunger 46 is normally clear of thechannel 49, but is operated by the action of the switch 50 to enter orproject into and block the coin passage 49, thereby causing the coinrebounding from the edge 48 to drop back upon the edge 52 and fall intothe reject slot.

The switch, 50, which may be of the same kind as the switch SDaforesaid, and connected across the line, operates to energize andde-energize a coil 55 in which the plunger (or armature) 46 is movable.The coil is held in a suitable bracket 62 secured to a wall W of thecoin-rejecting mechanism of the coin chute aforesaid. The plungerincludes a rigid collar 56. A coil spring 58, tensioned between thecollar 56 and the coil serves to move the plunger away from the coil(from left to right as seen in Figure 8) to cause the plunger to beprojected into the channel 49 when the coil is de-energized. Thus, whenthe switch is operated to break the circuit through the coil, theplunger is moved by the spring 53 to cause the rejection of a coin. Onthe other hand, when the coil is energized, the plunger is withdrawnfrom the channel.

To operate the switch by the drum I3, to reject a coin when the drum isempty, the switch is i positioned so that the roller LR of the lever LErides on the underface of the drum, the lever being under tension andthe switch being closed. A slot 59 (see Figure 8) is formed through thelower wall or disc 26 constituting the floor of the lowermost tier ofpockets, being positioned under the pocket adjacent the closed pocketP0, namely, the pocket PIE. When the drum has rotated to bring thepocket Pl 5 in register with the window, to vend the last bottle in thedrum, the roller will rise in the slot 59 and open the switch.

Operation rotate to render other empty pockets readily accessible, andthe motor is stopped; and so on until all the pockets have been filled.The motor is once more operated, if need be, to bring the blank orsealed pocket P0 of the uppermost row Rl to the front, that is, in aposition such that it presented to the window above the door 31.

would be in register with the window were the main door closed. This isthe initial vending position of the drum after it has been completelyfilled as aforesaid. The door 3'! is now lifted upwardly to slightlyabove the roof of the second uppermost row R2 as with, say, the righthand, and the main door closed, conveniently with the other hand, andlocked. The ledge or lip M is now supported by the roof 2B of the rowR2. Should the door 3| be opened, no bottle will be exposed to view,since a closed pocket P0 is now To purchase a bottle, a coin is droppedinto the coin chute, momentarily causing the switch SC to energize thecoil C and operate the relay switch SE to close the circuit W2, W3, thbridge contact BI and W5, and therefore start the motor. The switch willremain closed because of the holding circuit now established. As thedrum about completes its angular movement of N degrees, the roller LR atthe end of the lever LE of the switch SD is slightly, instantaneouslylowered to out 01? the holding circuit, and therefore break the circuitto the motor, the motor coming to a stop.

To purchase the second bottle, a second coin is inserted. The drum willrotate N degrees to bring the succeeding pocket P2 of the top rowopposite the window above the door 31; and so on until the bottle in the(last) pocket Pl 6 has been vended, whereupon the door 37 drops theequivalent of one row, the lip 4| now resting upon the roof of the thirdrow, below the pocket P0 of the second row. With the door in thatposition, no bottle is exposed. To purchase the first bottle of the sec0nd row R2, a coin is inserted, the drum rotating N degrees to presentthe pocket Pi to the window. The operation continues, the door droppingfrom an upper to a lower row after the bottles in such upper row haveall been vended. After the last bottle in the lowermost row has beenvended and the drum is empty, the switch 50 operates to return any coinwhich may be inserted into the coin chute.

What I claim is:

1. In a coin-controlled vending machine, in combination; a casing; agenerally drum shaped member mounted within said casing for rotation ona vertical axis, said member being formed with a series of similar comartments open to the periphery thereof and disposed in a plurality ofsuperposed horizontal rows with said compartments being in verticallyaligned columns; a door in said casing of substantially the height ofsaid member and of a width corresponding to that of one of said columnsof compartments; a vertically slidable shield mounted within said casingand arranged when in an upper position to mask the opening presented bysaid door to limit access therethrough to all but the top row of saidhorizontal rows of compartments; circular tracks extending around saidgenerally drumshaped member clear of the open ends of said compartmentsand corresponding to each said horizontal rows of compartments, at leastall of said tracks, except the lowermost, being formed with aninterruption; means on said shield for riding upon one of said circulartracks to support said shield, said means being arranged, uponencountering one of said interruptions, to permit said shield to dropvertically until the shield is supported by said means riding upon thenext lower of saidtracks to permit exposure of a further row of saidcompartments to said door,

said interruption in each of said tracks being,

the width of one compartment in advance, in

the direction" ofrrotationiof said drunL-shaped 1 memben-oftheinterruption "in the track nextabove, and coin-controlled means for"rotating:

said drum-shaped member progressively to pre sent successivecompartments behind said door to permitaccess therethrough to a freshcompartment each time correct coinage is deposited therein.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 inwhicha the lowermost track isalso formed with can .in-:

terruption and means for rendering the vending machine inoperative aredisposed beneath said shieldin position for actuation by downwardmovement thereof when -said means for riding upon' said" tracksencounters the interruptionin said: lowermost track. 7

3. In a vending machine, thecombination'of a casing, a member mountedfor rotationwithin saidcasing on a vertical axis and having circularshelves mounted thereinin a horizontal plane-in tical alignment for thewares to be-vended; a

windowin said casing forgaining accessto said member, means forintermittently rotatingsaid member .a predetermined amount to'present tosaid window, and a movable closure for said Window having aninwardly-directed flange ar-,

ranged for resting engagement upon the upper surface of one of saidshelves; each of said shelves havinga cutaway portion in theperipherythereof of a size sufiicient to allow said flange to droptherethrough; each of said cutaway portions being spaced from thecutaway-portion in the shelf immediately therebelow a horizontaldistance substantially equal to the distance a point on the periphery ofsaid member will move during' said predetermined amount of saidintermittent rotation in the direction of said rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,505,:41 Smith Aug. 19, 1924 1,616,085 Heath Feb. 1, 19271,820,671 McCormick et a1. Aug. 25, 1931 1,833,815 Beilgard Nov. 24,1931 1,905,180 Lowther Apr. 25, 1933 2,488,798 Bouralier Nov. 22, 19402,371,316 Rice et a1. M21113, 1945

